The desire for perimeter weighting in a golf club iron is well known in the art. This desire stems from the fact that as the mass of the club is distributed towards the perimeter, the trajectory of the hit ball becomes more accurate, despite off-center hits away from the sweet spot of the golf club face or hitting surface. Consequently, many modern golf club irons have a rear cavity that extends towards the rear side of the face surface of the iron. The weight saved, by creating a rear cavity in the club, is re-distributed to the perimeter of the golf club head. A large cavity volume equates to a greater amount of metal mass that can be redistributed to the perimeter of the golf club head. It is often desirable to enclose the cavity volume, therein creating a club head that is a compromise between a metal wood and an iron-type club. These clubs have various names such as hybrids or utility clubs.
Conventionally, golf club heads were made from a single material, usually stainless steel for some metal woods and iron type clubs, and recently a large shift in the use of titanium for metal woods. Carbon fiber composite materials have been introduced in an effort to decrease the weight of the golf club head while subsequently increasing the club head's volume. Composite materials have been used widely to reinforce thin club faces, while providing “feel” and in some instances vibration dampening.
Typically, in an iron club head, composite inserts are used to support the rear surface of the front face. They are generally sheets of composite attached with an adhesive. The lightweight composite allows for the face to be thin and therefore a larger face and bigger sweet spot.
The use of composites and perimeter weighting is often desired so that weight may be shifted to other more desired areas of the club head. One concern to the designers of golf clubs is the ability of the club head to resist twisting during the golf swing. It is desirable to provide a golf club that optimizes the moment of inertia (MOI) such that twisting will be reduced, and also such that ball speed will be similar over a large region to create a larger sweet zone. The present invention has created an improvement in optimizing the MOI of the club head by shifting club head weight to or from the toe region and higher hosel areas.